Justice Department spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said Sunday the United States will continue to seek Snowden’s return.

“As we stated yesterday, the United States had contacted authorities in Hong Kong to seek the extradition of Mr. Snowden, based on the criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, and in accordance with the US-Hong Kong Agreement for the Surrender of Fugitive Offenders,” Chitre said.

“We have been informed by the Hong Kong authorities Mr. Snowden has departed Hong Kong for a third country. We will continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel.”

Snowden’s departure from Hong Kong is being arranged by “diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks,” the group said on its Web site. WikiLeaks said that Snowden requested its “legal expertise and experience to secure his safety.”

Russia’s state ITAR-TASS news agency said Snowden landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport at 5:05 p.m. Moscow time (9:05 a.m. ET) and will fly on Monday to Cuba and then Venezuela. Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that Snowden may spend Sunday night at Venezuela’s embassy in Moscow, though it is not clear if he has a Russian visa.

The state-run Russia Today television station reported that Snowden was examined by a doctor from Ecuador’s embassy at the airport, and posted a photograph of a BMW with diplomatic plates it said was waiting for Snowden.

Hong Kong’s government said Snowden left the China-administered island “on his own accord” via “a lawful and normal channel.”

The Hong Kong statement said the U.S. extradition request was not sufficient to require Snowden’s arrest there.

“Since the documents provided by the US Government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law, the HKSAR Government has requested the US Government to provide additional information so that the Department of Justice could consider whether the US Government’s request can meet the relevant legal conditions,” the government statement said.

“As the HKSAR Government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.”

Russia’s role in the Snowden affair isn’t the first time the country has involved itself in cases involving Western free-speech troublemakers. Julian Assange of Wikileaks was given a TV show for a time on the international English language, Russian-government backed network, RT.

The Obama administration has yet to comment about Russia’s role in Snowden’s departure from Hong Kong, but Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.

“The bottom line is very simple: allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States, whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden,” Schumer said. “That’s not how allies should treat each other, and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has defended Snowden and condemned the surveillance programs his leaks revealed, said running to Russia will be “nothing but bad for his name in history.”

“If he cozies up to either the Russian government, Chinese government or any of these governments perceived still as enemies of ours, I think that will be a real problem for him in history,” Paul said.